


Flowers don't always mean "I love you"

by lasersheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Fluff, Getting Together, Humor, M/M, Pining Shiro (Voltron), SHEITH - Freeform, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Slow Burn, the whole gang make appearances intermittently
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-17 03:31:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13068210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: Takashi Shirogane had fulfilled his dream of becoming a test pilot, but after a terrible accident that left him without an arm and in sudden need of a new career, he moves back home and starts working at a family friend’s flower shop while he focuses on recovering and finding a new direction for his life.Things are going as well as can be expected until an attractive stranger shows up out of the blue, and keeps coming back. Who's this guy buying all these flowers for?





	1. ...sometimes they mean "I'm sorry"

**Author's Note:**

> There is a prompt for this fic, but putting it here would spoil part of the story, so I'll reference it when that part happens. 
> 
> Shout out to softspacesheith for all the help on the plot! Couldn't have done this without you! <3 
> 
> Don't read too far into this, but please feel free to comment and/or send me messages on Tumblr with whatever musical you think would be funniest/best for Lance to be the male lead in.
> 
> As always, Tumblr is @lasersheith and please come yell at me any time!

Purple Hyacinth- I am Sorry, Please Forgive Me, Sorrow  
Peony- Shame, Happy Life, Happy Marriage

 

Shiro looked at the clock for the umpteenth time already that morning and adjusted his apron again. He'd already arranged all the displays, checked that the day's orders had gone out for delivery, done inventory, and checked the inbox for new orders twice and it was only 12:45. Turns out, January is the most boring time in the world to sell flowers. He pulled out his phone with a sigh, no new messages. 

He wasn't surprised, Matt was teaching today (something he always grumbled about because it distracted him from his research) and just last week Allura had announced the cast list for the musical she and her uncle were helping to direct at the local college theater where they volunteered, so they were starting up the practices and rehearsals. They were all busy and he was beyond bored. Over the last year, he'd been steadily recovering (physically and emotionally) but idleness still left him uneasy and loneliness often led to less than pleasant thoughts.

A year ago, he'd been living his dream: test piloting experimental aircraft. And he'd been damn good at it, too. He'd loved flying ever since he was a little boy and his grandfather had taken him on his first ride in a Cessna. He got his private pilot's license before graduating high school and went straight to the National Test Pilot School. It had been a dream come true, until it turned into a fiery nightmare that cost him his arm, his career, and almost his life.

He shook his head. He’d been doing really well lately and didn't want to ruminate on it anymore, but the thoughts rarely stopped once they started. Just as he was about to call his therapist for help dealing with the unwelcome mental intrusion, the small bell over the door let out a soft jingle. Shiro immediately thanked the powers-that-be for the distraction.

The young man that walked in was one of the most striking people Shiro had ever seen. His style looked like he had time traveled right out of 1988 and somehow the scowl on his face only complimented the look. “Hey,” he said, when he approached the counter. For some reason, he was avoiding looking at Shiro, which was just fine- he was even more intimidatingly handsome up close. “Uh, hi there. What can I do for you?” Shiro set his phone down on the counter and gave him his full attention. 

“I uh… I need some flowers, I guess.” He mumbled out. He seemed very uncomfortable. Shiro was no stranger to the “ clueless boyfriend in the doghouse” body language and figured he must be in some pretty hot water at home. 

“Well, if you tell me what they’re for I can probably help with that.” He replied, smiling. Normally he’d be frustrated with such an unhelpful customer, but he’d been bored enough to do inventory on a Wednesday and this guy was _very_ easy on the eyes, so he was more than happy to help. The man sighed. “Ugh, it’s really stupid. I’d rather not say.” He grumbled out, cheeks tinged pink. _There it is,_ Shiro thought to himself, _he’s definitely in big trouble._ “Well I have an idea.” 

He walked around the counter to the display case and slid open the glass. He pulled a simple bouquet of purple hyacinth and peonies with a small blue bow wrapped around the stems. “How about something like this?” He offered the bouquet and the man finally looked up at him. His eyes were such a deep blue they almost looked purple, and it took Shiro’s breath away.

Apparently he hadn’t noticed Shiro’s empty right sleeve when he first came in, because his eyes widened at the sight and he quickly looked back at Shiro’s face. He was still blushing. At first, strangers’ uncomfortable reactions to his missing arm had hurt, but Shiro had been dealing with it for a while now and had mostly gotten used to it. It still made for some awkward moments here and there. 

The man took the flowers gently and cleared his throat. “Yeah, these will work great. Thanks.” He muttered shyly. Shiro walked back around to the register and quickly rang up his order. As he was paying, the man looked back up at him again. “Uh,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he held the flowers in the other, “Thanks for all your help. I’m Keith, by the way.” 

The blush had returned to his face and Shiro couldn’t help but notice how cute it was. “Sure thing, Keith.” Shiro replied with a smile. “I’m Takashi, everyone calls me Shiro, though. Nice to meet you.” Keith returned his change to his wallet and muttered a quiet “yeah, you too,” as he walked out. 

Shiro wasn’t sure what possessed him to do it, but as Keith opened the door and the small bell jingled again, he called out, “I hope the flowers help!” 

Keith smiled but didn’t reply, and the door swung shut.


	2. ...sometimes they mean "please take me back"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro gets another visit from Keith at the flower shop and is all at once pleasantly surprised and a little heartbroken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to add the source for my flower meanings last chapter! [I took them all from here](https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/flowers/flowers.html)
> 
> I tried to wait a full day before posting this, but I'm weak. Enjoy :)

Primrose- I Can't Live without You  
Pink Camellia- Longing For You  
Red Tulip- Believe Me, Declaration of Love

Shiro had immediately told Allura about the handsome, surly, somehow-made-a-mullet-look-good, stranger ( _Keith_ , his traitorous brain supplied) that had flustered him. She had been working hard to get him to open up about things since his accident and giggled with delight. “Sounds like someone's got a cruuush!” She'd gently teased. 

Shiro scoffed. “That's the problem with selling flowers, almost nobody who's buying them is single.” Still, it wasn't hurting anyone to daydream a little. 

And boy, did he daydream. Those piercing blue (purple?) eyes wouldn't leave his mind. The faint blush, the 80’s punk rock style. Shiro would bet anything that he owned a motorcycle. It would be a lot of hassle to get his own bike outfitted to be rideable in his new situation, but he could still imagine himself sitting behind Keith: arm locked around his waist, flying down the open road, chest to back and high on adrenaline. 

It was kind of amusing to have a silly little crush to fantasize about during the day. It certainly made work go by faster. Allura and Matt were his closest friends and had helped him through a lot, but for some reason Shiro couldn't bring himself to talk to either of them about it in any detail. He liked having something that was fun and all his own. Kind of like the flower arrangements, nobody but him had to know the exact meanings of every bouquet or basket, and nobody but him had to know what an impact that gorgeous stranger was having on him.

Plus, between his dissertation and being a TA, Matt was always busy. And Allura was gearing up for her big musical with Coran, so he was basically running their shop by himself these days. Not that any of them would hesitate to make time for him if he needed them, they'd proven that time and time again. But this was… different. He'd actually been sleeping through the night more often than not, keeping a regular schedule, and now crushing on cute strangers that came into his store. For the first time in a year he was beginning to feel like himself again. It was nice. 

..

The second time Keith came in, about a week later, Shiro knew his “harmless” crush wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. At first he'd been startled by the loud roar outside of the quiet little shop, but when a frazzled Keith had stepped through the door holding a bright red motorcycle helmet and wearing a matching red leather jacket, everything clicked into place. _Of course he drives a motorcycle_ , Shiro thought to himself. His hair was artfully mussed from being trapped in the helmet, but his angry frown flipped into a smile as soon as he met Shiro's eyes. 

And god, if looks could kill, Shiro would have died on the spot from that smile. 

Keith approached the counter and regarded Shiro warmly. “Hey again,” he said, smile still brightening his eyes. There was no way they were actually purple, it had to be a trick of the light. Shiro remembered himself after a beat, and tried to morph what he was sure was the dopey look on his face into a polite smile. “Hey again, yourself.” Neither of them spoke for a second as they looked at each other. Shiro broke first.

“So, she didn't like them the first time?” He said with a forced laugh, trying to break the ice. Keith blinked, like he was suddenly remembering that he was here for a reason other than staring at the florist. “Oh, no he liked them. I just,” he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck just like last time. _Must be a nervous tick or something_ Shiro mused to himself fondly. “Ugh I got myself into this mess and now I have to dig myself out.” He replied with a groan. 

Shiro was dying to know what he'd done, but last time he had seemed really embarrassed by the situation and Shiro was the last person to pry. _Maybe he's trying to win this guy back?_ Shiro wondered. “Well, flowers can say a lot of things that sometimes words can't.” He said, moving over to the displays. He pulled out a bouquet of pink camellia and primrose and set it on the counter. He regarded it for a moment and then moved over to the tulip display, selecting a few of the healthier-looking red ones. (There's a reason no one buys flowers in January, hardly anything is in bloom, even in California) 

Artfully sliding a few red tulips into slots between the pink flowers, he completed the piece and adjusted the bow. “I think this should get your point across.” Shiro finished, handing the flowers to Keith. Keith’s cheeks were as pink as the camellias and he was staring at the bouquet in awe. “They're um,” he cleared his throat, “really nice. Thanks.” Shiro smiled and nodded as Keith paid. “Hopefully he likes these, too.” Shiro said, smile faltering a little. 

Keith looked back up at him in confusion. “What? Oh. Oh yeah. I'm sure he will. Thanks.” Keith's smile had faded for some reason, replaced with the same scowl he had worn on his first visit, and he headed for the door.

_Man, that is one lucky guy_ , Shiro thought with a twinge of jealousy as Keith left. His hand hesitated on the door, but he stepped outside without turning back. Shiro grimaced as he watched through the front window as Keith roughly shoved the flowers into a backpack and mounted his bike.

Shiro's cheeks flushed as red as the tulips as Keith flipped up the kickstand, looked quickly up and down the street, and peeled out of the parking lot with a thunderous growl of his engine and sharp squeal of his tires. He popped the front tire off the ground into a wheelie for a few seconds as he sped off down the road. Shiro sighed and flipped the sign to “closed” a few minutes early.

He told himself that it was nothing. Keith's blushes and smiles were just polite interaction with a clerk. Nothing special. They were strangers, didn't even know each other's last names. They had really only said a handful of words to each other, there was no reason to get so worked up over a silly crush. Even if his heart was still racing and his stomach was twisting itself into knots. He probably wouldn't even be back, or at least not anytime soon. The man he'd bought the flowers for would be an idiot to turn someone like that away.


	3. ...sometimes they mean “thank you”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro isn't expecting to see Keith any time soon, but he's pleasantly surprised. He decides it's time to make his move... with a little help from his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @everyone who left kudos/comments/messages on tumblr: I love you and also I'm crying you're so nice <3
> 
> I told someone that this was going to be around 6 chapters, and I'm part of the way through writing chapter 5 right now. And I'm pretty sure I lied. It might end up being closer to 8. We'll see.  
> Don't worry though, I already have most of the last chapter written so we'll get there, we're just taking the scenic route. So we can stop... and smell the flowers... I'll see myself out.
> 
> Enjoy!

Campanula (Bellflower)- Gratitude

Being wrong was usually a bad thing in Shiro's book, but this time he was actually pretty over the moon about it. Exactly a week later, Keith stopped back in for more flowers. He'd apparently walked this time, Shiro hadn't heard his bike and he wasn't carrying a helmet. 

“Hey, Shiro.” Keith said, smiling at him fondly as he walked in. “Good to see you,” Shiro replied, struggling to keep his grin polite and customer-friendly. “Back for more already?” He teased. 

Keith did the adorable rubbing the back of his neck thing that Shiro had decided was the cutest thing he'd ever seen, and the almost ever-present blush tinted his cheeks. “Your flowers are just so pretty, I can't help myself.” It was Shiro's turn to blush at that. The last two times Keith had been in, he'd barely said a word, and now Shiro was getting his hopes up that his simple comment was somehow meant to be flirty.

“I'm glad you think so,” he meant it, Keith liking his work had easily made his whole day. “Is there anything special you're looking for this time?” He finished, already moving around the counter to head to the displays for Keith's request. 

“Uh… not really. Just something off the shelf is fine. It doesn't need to be fancy.” Shiro nodded. “The lilacs are blooming really well right now, they're pretty happy this time of year. The blues aren't doing great, but the white and purple look terrific.” He picked up a small arrangement and showed it to Keith. 

Still smiling, Keith took them and brought them up to his nose. “These are perfect, thanks.” It was all Shiro could do the sputter a quick “great” before he practically melted through the floor walking to the register. _Does this guy have any idea how adorable he is?_

As Shiro rang up the order, Keith shifted his weight from side to side nervously. He paid and thanked Shiro again, but didn't move away from the register to leave. Shiro blinked for a moment, watching him take a deep breath and reach into his pocket. He was fairly sure Keith wouldn't actually rob him, but he was being really shifty and pulling something out of his pocket. 

It was… a bookmark? Keith was handing him a bookmark. He blinked at it and flipped it over, on the other side of the laminated white cardstock there was a single pressed flower: a Campanula if he recalled correctly. 

“I um,” Keith started, shifting his weight again, “after what you said last week about flowers saying things, I started reading into it a little.” Keith's blush had spread to his ears and his voice was coming out a little strained. “That's a bellflower and it's supposed to mean gratitude. At least according to the book I found. It's just uh.” He coughed. “I really appreciate you. Your flowers, I mean. I appreciate how good you are at making flowers… look… good.” 

Shiro's heart was hammering in his chest. Keith had gotten him a ridiculously sweet present, and was standing there flustered and stumbling over his words. He had to be dreaming. He wished there was a way to subtly pinch himself. “Wow… Keith… this is. This is so thoughtful. Thank you so much. I love it.” He was sure his blush was matching Keith's at that point. His head was reeling in the best possible way and it almost felt like the dizzying rush he used to get while flying.

“I'm glad you like it.” Keith muttered out quietly, eyes fixed on the ground. “I should probably get going.” He turned on his heels and walked quickly towards the door. The bell jingled and Shiro couldn't help the giddy laugh that escaped his throat as he clutched the bookmark to his chest. He was trying to catch his breath against the counter when he realized that Keith had forgotten his flowers. 

Racing out the door, bouquet in hand, Shiro scanned both sides of the street for the shaggy mop of black hair. Luckily, he'd stopped at the corner and was just about to get into a yellow SUV as Shiro called out his name.

“Keith!” He called as loudly as he could, waving the bouquet over his head gently. “You forgot your flowers!” Keith paused and looked over. He slapped his palm against his forehead and met Shiro partially down the street. “Wow. Sorry. Thanks for bringing these.” He shook his head. The man driving the SUV honked and hung halfway out of the open window over the roof of the car. He waved enthusiastically at Shiro with a beaming smile. 

Shiro was very confused, but smiled back and waved to him. “Is that the guy you've been buying flowers for?” His traitorous mouth blurted before he could stop it. Keith looked back at the driver. “Huh? Oh, no, that's my friend Hunk. I was just getting a ride with him since we're headed to the same place.” The words tumbled out of Keith's mouth quickly. They both stopped and blinked at each other for a moment.

“Uh, anyway, thanks. I should probably…” he nodded back to the car. “Right. Of course. Didn't mean to keep you.” Shiro chuckled a little awkwardly. “Have a good night, Keith.” He knew he'd be dreaming about the small smile Keith gave him in return for weeks. “You too.” He replied, climbing into the SUV with flowers in tow this time. Shiro walked slowly back down the street to the shop, suddenly conflicted and lost in thought. 

There was no way he was misinterpreting this, right? Keith was actually actively flirting with him and getting him presents and being coy. But he'd been coming into the shop to get flowers for someone else. Shiro didn't want to be a homewrecker, no matter how hot (and sweet, as it turned out) Keith was. He ruminated on the dilemma for the rest of the afternoon.

He made the decision as he closed up the store that night: The next time he saw Keith, he was going to ask him who the flowers were for. And if the answer was anything but “my boyfriend” or “my husband” then he'd also ask for his phone number. Simple. 

And by simple, he meant he was going to call Allura and Matt as soon as he got home and make them help him with absolutely every part of this imaginary discussion with Keith in excruciating detail.

..

Matt and Allura had two very different approaches to this Tactical Strategy Meeting Of Utmost Importance. The former immediately grabbed a bag of chips and a beer and settled on the couch, while the latter assembled a full classroom-sized white board complete with eraser and 4 different colors of markers and began drawing diagrams. “Allura, where did you even get this?”

She looked up from the circles she had been drawing on the board. “You said it was a strategy meeting, Shiro. I simply brought the best materials for the job.” He blinked in stunned silence. “Yeah, but isn’t it a little… much?” Rearing her head back in mock-indignation, she replied, “A little much? Are we meant to strategize on legal pads like animals?” Matt smirked from his spot on the couch. “Yeah Shiro, show a little gratitude, she even brought markers for color coding!” 

Allura turned her glare on him. “You are not to touch my markers with your greasy potato fingers, Matthew.” Matt shoveled another handful of chips into his mouth. “Babe, you know what it does to me when you use my full name.” Without looking, Allura reached over to the whiteboard, grabbed the eraser, and chucked it at Matt. He tried to block it, but all he accomplished was spilling chips all over Shiro’s couch and getting hit in the face. Shiro frowned.

“Guys, focus please.” He called out. “Sorry, Shiro.” Allura said, still glaring at Matt. Matt smiled innocently while brushing crumbs onto Shiro’s wood floors. “Ok, first things first. Tell us absolutely everything you know about this handsome stranger.” She uncapped the blue marker and got ready to write in the first circle. Sitting down on the crumb-free portion of the couch, Shiro thought for a moment. He really didn’t know a lot about him now that he thought about it. 

“Well, his name is Keith. He drives a motorcycle. Uh, he likes to read? Probably?” Allura finished writing and looked back at him expectantly. A loud laugh from Matt had them both swiveling their heads towards him. “Sorry, ignore me. Reddit.” He held his phone up and wiggled it a little. Immediately getting back to business, Allura went back to the whiteboard. “What else?”

Could he really not think of anything else? He’d been on an emotional roller coaster for three weeks over this guy and the next most legitimate thing he could think of was “His hair smells nice.” Which he’d said out loud and instantly regretted. Matt was furiously typing with an evil smile on his face and that never boded well for anyone. Allura added insult to injury by actually writing _has nice smelling hair_ in the circle. Reading the room, Allura coughed quietly and erased it. “Alright, that’s probably… plenty. Next, we need to develop specific strategies for each possible scenario. It’s Valentine’s day in 2 weeks, so the store is going to start getting busy. We need to prepare for other people to be there as well.” She uncapped the black marker and wrote _Plan A: Part 1: Stalling Tactics_ and turned back around. 

The evening went on in a similar fashion for a few hours. Allura and Shiro had ended up with Plans A-G and Matt had ended up getting hit with 2 markers (for flirting with Allura again) and an entire couch cushion (for the comment “Jesus guys, we’re trying to get Shiro laid, not stage a coup on a fascist regime!”). When he went to sleep that evening, Shiro felt very prepared for his encounter with Keith next week. Hopefully his confidence would last that long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's Matt up to??? >:)


	4. ...sometimes they mean "get well soon"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro's had a rough couple of days. Thankfully, his friends are there to help him out and he gets a special surprise from Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 4 team! It's a little bit of Shiro whump, but it has a happy ending. 
> 
> I'm traveling this weekend and chapter 5 isn't quite ready yet, so expect the next update Sunday/Monday.

White Heather- Protection, Wishes Will Come True  
Garlic- Courage, Strength

The week had come and gone before Shiro could blink, and the next time Keith came by the store was packed. Valentine’s day was looming down upon them so the small shop was filled to the brim, mostly with harried mothers or fathers and their young children. Coran and Allura had cancelled the musical rehearsals for the next 2 weeks so that at least two of them could be working at the busiest hours every day, but their normal delivery boy had called in sick (of course), leaving Allura to fill in. Shiro had been on his own since Coran had left at 1:00.

At first he didn't even notice that Keith had come in, but he'd finished helping a customer and turned around to see him looking at the greeting card display. They had prepared for precisely this situation in Plans A through D, so Shiro knew exactly what to do. He walked over to the next nearest customer and began assisting her with her arrangement. By the time he was done, a few other customers had left and several were in line to schedule deliveries. He couldn't actually abandon his register to go flirt, so he plastered on his best customer service smile and began taking down orders. 

When he looked up for the next customer in line and saw Keith, he couldn't contain the grin that lit up his face. “Keith! Good to see you.” _Be cool_ , he thought to himself, _this is Plan C, we practiced this._ Keith smiled back and gestured around. “It's pretty busy in here today, looks like you're a little short handed.” Without missing a beat, Shiro replied, “It's not so bad, I'm used to being short handed,” and shrugged his right shoulder. 

Keith's face instantly erupted in a crimson flush and he covered it with a hand. “Oh god, I didn't mean… I'm so sorry…” Shiro laughed. “Sorry, that was a terrible joke. I know you didn't mean it like that.” Keith chuckled awkwardly and lowered his hand. They held each other's gaze for a long moment before Keith blinked and looked away. Shiro coughed lightly. “Right. So what can I help you with today? Big Valentine's day arrangement for that special someone?” 

Just as Keith was about to answer, a little boy slammed into his legs. Keith made a surprised noise and wobbled a little, but regained his balance and managed to catch the kid by his arm before he fell over. “You ok, buddy?” Keith said gently. “Yup!” The little boy smiled at him sheepishly. “Sorry, mister!” Keith just laughed and waved him off. Shiro smiled fondly at the scene, and his eyes followed the boy back his mother, who handed him a small toy plane. He immediately grabbed it and began making wooshing noises as he flew it around the store. 

When he turned back to Keith, he noticed that he was watching the kid as well, small smile on his face. “He's pretty cute, but he might need to lay off the sugar a little.” Shiro said with a laugh. Keith turned back to him and grinned. “Nah, everything's just really exciting when you're that age.” Shiro's stomach was doing cartwheels. _And he's good with kids, that's definitely going on the list._

“Yeah, that's fair.” Shiro's grin softened as he met Keith's eyes. He felt his face heat up, but he steeled himself to ask Keith why he was in the shop again, determined to figure this out. “So, looking for anything in particular?” Keith pushed a stray lock of hair out of his eyes and glanced around. _I bet his hair is so soft_ Shiro thought, dazed.

“Yeah, actually, um,” Keith started quietly. Shiro could hardly hear him over the 'nyooooom whoosh brrrrrttttt’ plane noises the little boy was making in the corner. “If you were going to pick out a Valentine's day gift for someone that you didn't know very well, where would you start?” His cheeks matched the display roses next to the register. The little boy in the corner started making siren noises. 

“Well, I'm obligated to say you can't go wrong with roses,” Shiro said nodding to the rows and rows of the aforementioned flowers that sat in the front displays. “But it also depends on what kind of tone you're going for.” He cringed as the boy did a silly voice and cried out “Oh no!! We're going down!! Kkksssshhhhhh!!” He shook his head a little and tried to keep the smile on his face. _It's just a dumb toy. He's just an excited little kid. You're fine. Just breathe._

“Uhm, yeah. So if you want a deep romantic tone, red roses or chrysanthemums are a good bet.” Shiro nearly jumped out his skin as the little boy slammed the toy plane into the greeting card display with an explosion noise. Keith wheeled around to see what the ruckus was. “Arlo! That's very rude! That nice man spent a lot of time making those look nice, put them all back and say you're sorry!” His mother scolded. Faint static started buzzing in Shiro's ears. 

The little boy looked over at Shiro with watery eyes. “Sorry,” he squeaked out. Shiro blinked, mouth still gaping. He took a breath and tried his best to smile. “That's ok, buddy. We'll call it even as long as you put the cards back, ok?” The boy nodded and started sliding cards back into their slots. The young woman looked over at him and mouthed 'thank you’ with an apologetic smile. Shiro just nodded. 

“Hey, Keith, can you hold on for a minute? I just need to grab something out of the back.” Keith looked at worriedly. “Yeah, yeah sure.” He replied. Shiro kept the fake smile plastered on and walked into the back room. He splashed cold water on his face in the break room sink and toweled it off. 

He was a little annoyed with himself at his reaction, but also a little proud. 6 months ago, that encounter would have ended _very_ differently. He took a deep breath and punched in Allura's number. It went straight to voicemail, so he tried Coran. He picked up after a couple of rings. 

“Shiro! How's the store?” His jolly voice rang out on the other end of the line. “Hey, Coran. The store's fine.” He paused and chewed at his lower lip. “I uhm… I think I might need to head home early and I can't get ahold of Allura. Is there any way you could come back?” Coran didn't hesitate a moment. “Are you alright?”

Shiro hated worrying people and hated feeling like a burden. But he knew he needed to take care of himself first so he could take care of everything else. He sighed and told Coran what happened. 

“I'll be there in 10 minutes.” Coran rushed out and Shiro heard clanging in the background. “Do you need me to stay on the phone?” Shiro couldn't help but smile fondly, Coran had become like family over the past year and he was grateful for all the love and support. “No, I'm ok. Just mostly exhausted.” 

“Well, keep that chin up! I'll be there in a jiffy.” Shiro could hear his smile through the phone. “Thanks, Coran. Bye.” He ended the call and took another deep breath. Crawling under the covers until tomorrow morning sounded like heaven. He'd just have to finish helping Keith and then Coran would be there and he could go home. 

When he walked back out into the main area, the woman and her son were gone. Keith was the only one in the store now, and he was reordering the greeting cards that the kid had put in the wrong slots. “Hey, sorry about that. And you don't have to fix that, I'll take care of it later.” 

Keith turned around and gave Shiro a worried glance. “Are you sure? It's not a big deal.” Shiro smiled at the nice gesture. “Yeah, it's fine. Thanks, though.” Putting the last card in his hand back in its proper place, Keith walked back up to the counter. “Are you… ok?” He asked quietly. 

Shiro sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Honestly? Not really. But I'll be fine.” Keith's eyebrows were still furrowed but he nodded. Shiro could tell he really wanted to ask what had happened, and was immeasurably grateful that he didn’t. “I can come back later if you want, you look really tired.” _Could he be any sweeter?_ Shiro mused fondly. “No, it's fine. Coran will be here in a few minutes and he's letting me off early. We can go ahead and finish up here.” 

Keith nodded. “Right, so chrysanthemums and roses are pretty romantic. That's where you stopped.” Shiro thought for a moment, trying to get his exhausted brain to remember his previous train of thought. “Oh, right. Ok. So if you're going for something more flirty than outright romantic,” Shiro started, he'd re-read several of his floral arrangement books in preparation for Valentine's day and his addled brain was slowly catching up. “Daffodils are actually way prettier than most people give them credit for and they still have an affectionate meaning.” He stopped and smiled at Keith, who was looking at him in awe.

“Lillies are my personal favorite, but you have to be careful. Any color of Lily is fine except orange.” He paused. Keith blinked up at him. “What's wrong with orange lillies?” Shiro chuckled. “They actually mean 'I hate you’ believe it or not.” Keith laughed. “I might need a whole bunch of those soon, then.” 

Shiro was about to ask what he meant, but Coran walked in and flitted over to him. He started fussing immediately. “Shiro you look awful!” He cried out miserably, rubbing a hand over Shiro's face. He swatted at Coran's hands and frowned. “Gee, thanks.” Coran patted his cheek. “You know what I mean, everyone knows you're a handsome devil. You're just so pale right now. Do you need to sit down?” 

Shiro groaned a little. “I'm ok, Coran. Like I said on the phone, I'm just really tired. Thank you, though.” Coran smiled at him before turning to Keith and pointing a finger at his chest. “You! You're a strapping young lad, why don't you help Shiro get home safe!” He said, still smiling wide, but with a sharp edge. 

Sliding his hand over his face, Shiro felt himself heat with embarrassment. “He's a customer! And I can walk a mile by myself, I swear.” Keith’s eyes were wide with shock, but he quickly rolled with the situation. “You do look pretty beat, I'm happy to make sure you get home ok, if you want.” 

“Well… it couldn't hurt I guess.” At least the day wouldn't be a total failure, he'd have a solid 20 minutes to talk to Keith on the way back to his place. It was enough time to find out at least a little more about him. 

After Shiro collected his things and hung up his apron, they set off. “Oh! Your flowers! You never actually had a chance to get them.” Shiro said after walking in companionable silence for a minute or so. “That's ok, I figured out what I wanted to get, I can come by later.” Keith reassured him. “Alright, if you're sure.” Keith nodded in a reply. 

Shiro was wracking his brain for something to talk about for several long minutes when he finally noticed Keith's lanyard sticking out of his pocket. Shiro gestured towards it. “Do you go to Garrison Polytechnic?” Keith nodded.

“Yeah, I'm a Junior.” Shiro made an approving noise. “That's cool, it's a great school. My friend is doing his PhD there. What do you study?” Keith's eyes lit up as he answered. “I'm doing aeronautical and aerospace engineering.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but held himself back. Shiro smiled fondly.

“That's amazing, Keith. Sounds like you've got a great future ahead.” Keith finally returned his smile. “I actually used to be a test pilot, we worked with the Garrison avionics team a lot.” Keith stopped short. “No way! That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.” Shiro chuckled and dipped his head shyly. They started walking again. 

“It was a pretty sweet gig while it lasted.” Shiro murmured out, almost too quietly for Keith to hear. It was bittersweet to reminisce about the days before his accident. Before Shiro realized he'd lost most of his chance to talk with Keith, they arrived at his apartment complex. “You know, part of the degree is getting qualified for a PPL, I could take you flying some time if you want.” 

Shiro was equal parts elated and horrified at the thought. “It uh… it might be a while before I'm ready for that.” He shrugged his right shoulder and the mostly empty sleeve flapped a bit. Without hesitation, Keith met his eyes. “I can wait.” As his words sunk in, they both blushed. 

“Uh… this is me.” Shiro pointed at the door immediately to their left. “Normally I'd ask if you wanted to stick around and hang out or something, but…” He trailed off. “No, that's ok. Don't worry about it. You're not feeling well. I'll see you around, ok?” Shiro smiled and nodded. “Yeah, definitely.” Keith waved and turned to walk back the way they came. If he wasn't so exhausted, Shiro might have been giddier about their encounter, but all he could bring himself to do was fall into bed and pass out immediately. 

When he woke up late the next morning, he had a missed call from Allura telling him to take the rest of the week off. He felt guilty about how relieved that made him; it was one of the busiest times of the year at the shop but he felt like he could easily sleep another 15 hours. He decided to call Matt instead. 

After a long, hot shower, fresh shave, and clean clothes, Shiro was feeling more human-like. Matt had already let himself in and settled on the couch with a beer and a stack full of papers. Shiro grabbed his own beer and sat down on the other side next to him. “Hey just FYI, I have to grade all of these sophomore physics labs by Monday, so I’m gonna get absolutely trashed.” Matt groaned from under his pile of papers. Shiro couldn’t help but laugh. Exactly things like that were why he always called Matt when he was feeling down. 

“Oh by the way, Allura said she’d come over tonight on two conditions,” Matt held up a finger, “1) Pizza is involved,” a second finger joined the first, “2) I’m not allowed to pick the movie. Which, like, rude.” Sliding down deeper into the couch cushions, Shiro smirked. “Good, we’re watching Tangled.”  
“Dude we are not watching Tangled again.”  
“Well we’re definitely not watching Galaxy Quest for the 400th time.”  
“Blasphemy! Galaxy Quest is a classic!” Matt threw a pillow at Shiro’s head. “Fine!” Shiro cried, trying to defend both his beer and his face with only one arm. “We’ll let Allura decide.” More groaning followed as Matt grabbed the papers that he’d thrown off in his assault. 

They marathoned through a good portion of Matt’s b-list horror movie collection and spent the rest of the afternoon laughing and enjoying each other’s company. When Allura texted to say she’d be over in about an hour, they called in their pizza order and had another spirited debate about the evening’s movie choice. “God, how are we even friends!” Matt shouted as he opened the door. He handed the bewildered delivery boy enough cash to cover the pizza and a sizable tip while grumbling under his breath. “Who doesn’t want to watch Pacific Rim?” When he nudged the door open wide enough to get the two large boxes through, he noticed something odd on it.

“Uh… why do you have flowers taped to your door?” He called in from the kitchen as he set the boxes down on the counter and set about preparing their plates. “Wait, what?” Shiro said, heading for the door. Sure enough, there were two flowers, one white and one yellow, with their stems intertwined and a note taped there. He gently removed the tape and went to sit down to read the note.

_I came by to check on you, but I wasn’t sure if you were still sleeping. I couldn’t find an actual garlic flower and I didn’t want to weird out your neighbors with an actual glove of garlic, so I hope the heather and lily will work for ‘I hope you feel better.’  
If you’re feeling up to it when you get this, give me a call._

Right there on the note, Keith had signed his name and written his number. Shiro looked up at Matt with wide eyes and an open mouth. Movie night had just turned into Tactical Strategy Meeting Of Utmost Importance Part 2 night.


	5. ...sometimes they mean "Happy Valentine's Day"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Shiro get to have a fun Valentine's day date and get to know each other a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted a couple more things to happen this chapter, but with the holidays and whatnot I was too busy to get to it, and already felt bad for being a day late. I'm back home now and hopefully I'll be back to updating every day! 
> 
> Also, Pidge and Matt are definitely scheming and you'll get to see what they've been up to soon :)

As soon as Allura walked in the door, Shiro immediately thrust the note in her hands. She read over it and her face exploded in a grin. “Oh, Shiro! This is wonderful! I’ll get the markers!” She was already digging through the small closet in the hallway to assemble the strategy whiteboard. Shiro’s stomach was firmly resting somewhere in the vicinity of his throat and his palm was so sweaty he had to continually wipe it on his sweatpants. As per usual during these types of discussions, Matt was busy half paying attention while texting and mostly there to provide funny commentary. 

Just as Shiro and Allura were about to start strategizing in earnest, Matt held Shiro’s phone out to him. It was ringing. “Oh oops. I hit send.” Shiro’s eyes widened in panic. He snatched the phone from Matt’s hand just as a soft “Hello?” sounded from the other end. “Heeeeey, Keith. This is Shiro. I uh… I got your note. Thanks.” He cringed and thanked every deity he could think of that Keith couldn’t see his face. 

“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Keith responded. Shiro smiled. “Thanks.” They paused awkwardly for a moment before Keith broke the short silence. “Are you busy next Thursday?” Shiro pulled the phone away from his face and brought up the calendar. Next Thursday was… “I uh, I work until 6.” He paused for a moment. “That’s uhm. Thursday’s Valentine’s day, isn’t it?” Of course Shiro knew it was Valentine’s day, he just wanted to make sure Keith realized. “Yeah, it is. I was wondering if you’d want to go with me to the observatory? My best friend is the astronomy club president and she said she’d give me the keys, so…” He trailed off. Heart beginning to pound in earnest now, Shiro tried his hardest not to fumble over his words. Allura and Matt stood next to him, both vigorously making thumbs up motions and pretending to swoon. 

“Yeah, that sounds really great. When do you want to meet up?” Shiro couldn’t have stopped the grin from taking over his whole face if his life depended on it. “Actually, I was thinking I could pick you up from the shop around 6:30? Unless you need to go home first.” Keith wanted to pick him up. On his motorcycle. On Valentine’s day. Shiro shook his head. He felt a little dizzy from everything. “Oh, ok.” He tried his hand at sounding nonchalant but felt like he might have missed the mark at the looks Matt and Allura gave him. “That sounds great, Keith. Thanks.” 

They fumbled through a few more pleasantries before saying their goodbyes. Shiro’s head was spinning and his cheeks hurt from smiling. Before he got a firm grasp on the situation, Allura had thrown her arms around him. “He really asked you out for Valentine’s day?! That’s amazing!” Matt offered him a high five and went back to texting. He always kind of looked like he was up to something, but Shiro had long ago dismissed it as just being Matt’s face. Some people had RBF, Matt had resting scheming face. After much coaxing (read: begging) from Matt, the three of them got back to their original plan of watching movies and drinking while Matt graded labs. Allura decided on Tangled. 

..

Later that weekend found Shiro wandering aimlessly through the mall. What on Earth do you get someone you barely know for your very first date, on Valentine’s day no less? Flowers were kind of their thing, but getting him something from the place he worked seemed like a cop out. There was always chocolates, but what if he didn’t like them? Or was allergic? That would be a disaster. He had a couple of earrings, but Shiro didn’t know what gauge they were and jewelry seemed a little too intimate. He was about to give up and go back to the flower shop and make a special arrangement that he hoped Keith would like, when he passed by the perfect store to find a gift for someone like Keith. Maybe coming to the mall wasn’t a waste of time after all. 

..

The following week went by in a haze, partially because the store was so busy and partially because Shiro was looking forward to and panicking about his date in turns every twenty or so minutes the entire time. He’d wrapped his gift (with a lot of help from Matt- one handed wrapping is very tricky) in shiny red paper, which he waffled between being excited to give and terrified that Keith would hate it. 

The clock seemed to slow to a crawl at 6:13, which it had been for at least 12 hours now, Shiro was sure. He knew he was in for a long night when his heart began to thump and he was already rubbing his sweaty palm on his pants just from hearing the rumble of Keith’s motorcycle as he pulled up. Eyes wide, he spun on his heels towards Coran, who was assisting a customer at the register. Coran caught his eye, winked at him, and gave him a big thumbs up. Shiro was out the door before Keith had even had a chance to take his helmet off. 

Shiro tucked the small box under his arm and waved as Keith pulled off his helmet. They smiled at each other and Shiro blushed, handing over the box. _God he's adorable_ Shiro thought to himself as Keith took it with a look of surprise. “Happy Valentine's day,” Shiro murmured out quietly, he was suddenly regretting his decision to get Keith a gift. 

Keith gingerly unwrapped the box and pulled out the black leather motorcycle gloves. He looked up at Shiro in shock. “I noticed you didn't have gloves, and I used to ride and hated how cold my hands got before I got some. I uh kept the receipt in case you don't like them.” Shiro fumbled out, mostly looking at the ground and avoiding Keith’s gaze. 

The dry crackling of Velcro had Shiro's eyes snapping up. Keith had slipped the gloves on and was adjusting them to fit his slim wrists. It looked like they fit perfectly. Keith beamed up at him and flexed his fingers. “I've been meaning to get gloves since September but I kept putting it off. These are perfect.” He stepped forward and hugged Shiro close, then backed off just as quickly. Shiro lamented the split second of shock that prevented him from reciprocating as much as he would have liked. 

The moment passed quickly as Keith stuffed the empty box in his backpack and grabbed his extra helmet for Shiro. Shiro smiled playfully at him as he put it on and adjusted the chin strap. “Alright, I only have the one arm to hold on with, so don't do anything too crazy.” Keith returned his smile with a smirk as he adjusted his own helmet. “I dunno, you look pretty strong to me, I think you can handle it.” Shiro's heart did another backflip as Keith slipped his leg over the seat and motioned for Shiro to follow suit. 

He took a deep breath and slid in behind Keith. Wrapping his arm firmly around Keith's waist, he blushed as he pulled himself close. It was just like he imagined it the first time Keith had come into the shop (and about a thousand times afterward, if he's being honest); they were connected from thigh to shoulder. _Yeah I could definitely get used to this_ he thought to himself as the bike rumbled to life. “Ready?” Keith shouted over the roar of the engine. “Let's do this!” Shiro replied excitedly, it had been over a year since he'd been on a motorcycle and he sorely missed it. 

As they flew down the road just the right side of too fast, Shiro decided that this was already the best Valentine's day he'd ever had. He snuggled even closer to Keith and whooped loudly as Keith sped up just a bit more. The ride was over far too soon for Shiro's liking as they rumbled to a stop in the dirt parking lot, dust billowing out behind them in the twilight. 

Shiro couldn't help but hesitate for a moment before letting go of Keith's waist and sliding off the back of the bike. He pulled his helmet off and rested it next Keith's on the seat. “That was a lot of fun, Keith, thanks.” Shiro said, grinning, with eyes still wild from the adrenaline. Keith smiled back shyly. “Good.” He replied quietly, craning his head over to the building. “It's almost dark, let's head up.” 

Keith led Shiro up the winding stairs on the outside of the small observatory and held the door open for him. It was completely dark inside and Shiro squinted in the dark, turning behind him to look for a light switch when he heard a soft click and dozens of electric candles flickered to life. Shiro felt like his heart had stopped. 

The small room had a few lab tables that normally held computers, and two large telescope stations on either end. One telescope remained covered with its protective equipment, but the other was already set up and ready to use. Instead of the normal mapping and tracking computers, there were huge flower arrangements on all of the benches, interspersed with electric candles that flickered at random intervals. Shiro's eyes watered. 

“Keith… this is…” he tried to get ahold of himself but he couldn't continue. “It's too much isn't it? I told Pidge it was overboard…” Keith's face glowed red in the candlelight from his blush. He was staring at the ground. Shiro stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. “It's not too much,” he whispered into Keith's hair, “it's amazing.” Shiro stepped back and motioned to the telescope. “What are we looking at?” 

Face still blazing red, Keith motioned for Shiro to sit down on one of the stools as he made a few adjustments. “You can see the milky way really well out here, not like in town. It's pretty incredible.” Shiro leaned forward and couldn't help the gasp that escaped his lips. The greens and purples and blues swirled together with the bright white dots of distant stars and planets. It was breathtaking. “Wow… this is so beautiful.” He murmured as he scanned the sky.

“I used to love looking up at the stars with my grandparents. My grandpa had a little telescope we'd set up in the back yard.” Shiro looked up at Keith and smiled. Keith smiled back. “My dad was always big into astronomy. We could never afford anything fancy, but we'd drive out into the middle of nowhere and sit on the hood of the truck for hours.” 

They spent the next several hours talking and laughing while stargazing. They talked about anything and everything; compared childhoods and college experiences, waxed poetic about their shared love of flying. Shiro confided that he hadn't been able to bring himself to get back on a plane since his accident. 

Keith stared at him earnestly, “If you wanna talk about it, I'll listen. But don't feel like you have to.” Shiro looked over at him and smiled sadly. It was a little bit heavy for a first date topic, but they'd already had a fairly lengthy discussion about embarrassing phases they'd gone through in middle school. If that hadn't scared Keith off, maybe this wouldn't either. 

“It was… I was so excited to test that damn plane. I'm not allowed to give specifics, but that thing was fast. It was going to revolutionize the aviation industry. I was absolutely thrilled to get the mission, there were a lot of guys way more experienced. But the director said I was the best and that's what they needed.” He took a deep breath and paused, staring at his hand in his lap. “It was incredible. I did sims for weeks, and flew small laps just in the pattern around the landing strip maybe half a dozen times, nothing fancy. But when I finally got her up at 16k…” 

Keith put a hand on his thigh as he paused again. Shiro placed his hand on top of Keith's and gave a gentle squeeze. “They still don't really know what happened. But one minute I was about to break the sound barrier, the next my wing was on fire. I tried to slow her down but you can only do so much so fast at those speeds. Ground control told me to eject, so I tried, but the gear got stuck.” His eyes filled with tears and he coughed, trying to keep them at bay. 

“I tried to land, but the flaps had mostly burned and I couldn't bleed off enough speed. I hit too hard and too fast and the cabin was filled with smoke. I hit my head on the instrument panel, and that's really the last thing I remember clearly.” He cleared his throat and rubbed at his right shoulder. “I woke up a couple days later decidedly left handed.” He chuckled at his own bad joke and looked up apologetically at Keith. 

Keith's face went through a harrowing journey that eventually settled on laughter. “I'm sorry, I can't believe… after all that. And you end with a lefty joke?” Shiro smiled at him in earnest this time. “Hey, sometimes a morbid sense of humor makes the difference between laughing and crying.” He pulled a petal from one of the flowers on the table and threw it in Keith's direction. Keith swatted at it with his free hand, and squeezed Shiro's with the other. “Thank you. For telling me, I mean.” 

Shiro nodded at him. “Thanks for listening.” He looked away. “I've really only talked to my therapist about it. My best friends know the gist but we kind of… don't really make it a thing I guess.” Shiro finished, blowing out a puff of air. “Well I can't promise I'll know what to say, but you can talk to me about it any time.” Keith replied before standing up to stretch. Shiro had to force his eyes away from small strip of stomach that was exposed in the motion, eyes immediately locking on the dark strip of hair that disappeared into the nearly too-tight jeans. 

Instead of staring and/or drooling, he looked up at the clock. It was almost midnight. They'd spent 5 hours looking at the stars and talking in the candlelight. “I hate to do this, but I've got work in the morning, and it's getting kinda late.” Keith glanced up at the clock in surprise and groaned. “Yeah I have class at 9, we should probably head back. I didn't realize it had been that long.” 

Shiro smiled back at him, “Well I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from Keith's eyes. Cheeks burning pink again, Keith turned and motioned for Shiro to follow him back to his bike. 

The ride back to Shiro's was quieter and more sedate than the ride to the observatory had been, but Shiro treasured it just as much. With his legs and arm wrapped around Keith, and their combined body heat warring with the night's chill air careening over them, Shiro was having difficulty controlling his body's reactions to their midnight ride. 

When they arrived at his apartment complex, they walked quietly to Shiro’s door, both stuck in their own heads. As they approached it, Shiro turned. “I had a really amazing time tonight, Keith. Thank you so much for this.” Keith smiled warmly at him, adjusting the straps on his new gloves. “I’m glad. I had a lot of fun with you.” Keith took a step toward him and Shiro couldn’t help but feel small under that intense gaze, even though he stood nearly a head taller. “Can I… Can I kiss you?” Keith’s cheeks darkened with blush as the words left his mouth. Shiro bit his lip and stared down. “No.” 

Taking a step back, Keith’s eyes widened in shock. “Sorry! It’s not. I just,” Shiro started, fumbling over his words. Keith held up his hands, “No, no, it’s ok. That’s why I asked.” He brought his hand up to scratch the back of his neck and looked about half a second from bolting. Shiro smiled at him fondly and grabbed his hand. “Take me out again, when we don't have anything to do in the morning, and then ask me after. Ok?” 

Keith looked up with a small smile. “Ok.” Shiro took a step forward and wrapped his arm around Keith’s shoulders; Keith reciprocated immediately and nuzzled his head into the crook of Shiro’s neck. Shiro couldn’t help but rest his head on Keith’s soft, helmet-mussed hair and inhale deeply; _He uses strawberry shampoo_ Shiro mused fondly to himself. They pulled away slowly, both blushing beet red. 

“I’ll call you later, Shiro.” The earnest look in Keith’s eyes almost made Shiro regret his decision to deny Keith’s request for a kiss, but he was sure things would get out of hand if he went back on it now. “Good.” Before Keith could walk away, Shiro left a soft kiss on his cheek. “Text me when you make it home.” He whispered. 

Keith looked down at Shiro's lips and closed his eyes, nodding. “I will. Good night.” Shiro used every ounce of willpower he had to drag himself to the door and hastily stuff the key into the lock. He turned and watched as Keith walked to his bike, hands stuffed into his back pockets and looking up at the sky.


	6. ...sometimes they mean something unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro has a very boring day after Valentine's day and decides to go see Allura and Coran's rehearsal. Keith shows up, and Shiro finally finds out what he's been buying so many flowers for. Now he just needs to find out _why_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the world's dumbest cliff hanger, this chapter was getting way too long and this was the only logical spot to cut it off. Next update will be Friday!

Orange Lilies- Hatred 

Especially when compared to the chaos and mayhem of Valentine's day, working at a flower shop on February 15th is ungodly _boring_. Shiro had never handled boredom well, and today was no exception. The store was spotless, inventory was finished, all the displays were arranged with love and care. And he hadn't had a single customer all morning. 

He pulled out his phone for what had to be the hundredth time already that day. He smiled down at the messages he'd exchanged with Keith the previous night. 

**Keith:** made it home  
**Keith:** thanks again for the great night  <3  
**Shiro:** :) let's do it again soon

Keith still hadn't replied. Shiro kept staring at the small heart Keith had typed. _What the heck does that mean??_ his brain screamed. He tried to distract himself by tidying up around the store some more, but it was already cleaner than he'd ever seen it. Later that afternoon, Shiro was about to swallow his pride and double-text when he finally got a reply. 

**Keith:** you busy tomorrow? 

Shiro bit his bottom lip and frowned. Allura would totally forgive him for blowing off their museum trip for a second date with Keith, he decided. 

**Shiro:** nope :) what do you have in mind?

_Was that presumptuous? No, he wouldn't have asked if I was busy if he didn't want to go out again. Right?_ Heart pounding, Shiro put his phone back in his pocket and vowed not to look at it for at least an hour. It was driving him crazy. Before his accident, he was much calmer and more collected, but he'd always been a disaster at dating. _Maybe I should call Matt, he's good at this…_ Shiro thought, frowning. 

He shook it off and decided to reorganize the greeting cards and recycle all the worst-selling Valentine's day specific ones; he left a few of the more popular ones in case there were any stragglers. The day was crawling by, and by 4:45 Keith still hadn't answered. He has class, he's probably just really busy Shiro thought with a sigh.

He was toying with the idea of calling Coran and seeing if he could close up early when Matt strode in. “Hey lover boy! How was your date?” He said, leaning heavily on the counter and batting his eyelashes. Shiro rolled his eyes and tried to appear nonchalant. “It was pretty cool. We went to the observatory and talked a lot. I think we're probably gonna meet up again this weekend.” Matt wiggled his eyebrows and made kissy faces. 

“Ugh you're such a dweeb. I can still shove you in a locker one handed, you know.” Matt laughed and stood up straight again. “I don't doubt it. Change of subject: come to Allura's dumb rehearsal with me tonight, I need a wingman.” Shiro blinked at him in confusion. “Uhhh, what?” 

Matt crossed his arms and scowled. “She's been fawning over this guy, Lance, that's in her stupid play, and I have to go meet the alleged competition.” Matt had been chasing after Allura since they were teenagers, to no avail. Shiro wasn't even sure that he actually liked her in that way anymore or if it had just become a habit he couldn't shake. He shrugged. “We close at 6 today, when does it start?” 

Matt looked around. “Dude has anyone even come in today? Call Coran and tell him you want to go to see the play since it's super dead.” With a sigh, Shiro pulled out his phone and dialed Coran. He was fine with closing up early especially since Shiro was going to go to the rehearsal, he and Allura had been working very hard on it and couldn't wait for opening day. With Matt’s help, closing up the shop only took a few minutes and they set off for the university.

A very familiar red motorcycle was parked at the far edge of the lot at the theater, and Shiro turned to Matt. “Is Keith in the play?” Matt looked at him and shrugged as he pulled into a spot. “I don’t know, we’re pretty close to the engineering building, maybe he just couldn’t find parking.” Shiro frowned. It was possible, but it seemed kind of late to still be in class. He checked his phone again, no new messages. That was probably it then. 

Once they made their way inside, they found Allura in the projection/filming booth above the stadium seating in the auditorium. The actors and actresses were all already on stage, giving a raring rendition of “I’m Free,” especially the tall skinny guy in the front, clearly playing Ren. Shiro had to admit, he was pretty good. Matt might actually have some competition. 

Allura finally noticed them and slipped off one side of her headphones. “Oh! I’m so glad you could both make it! We’re only a couple of weeks away from opening day. I want your honest opinions about everything!” It had been years since Shiro had been to a musical, and he had to admit, this cast was pretty great. “That guy has a pretty killer voice.” Shiro offered. Allura blushed a little. “I know! He was a complete dark horse, too. He said he hasn’t been in a musical since he was in grade school, but he’s incredible.” Matt growled and crossed his arms. “Psh, he’s not that great.” A piece of equipment fell over as Matt kicked the table next to him. Allura frowned at him as he righted the box. 

Shiro was really getting into the story (it had been ages since he’d watched Footloose) and almost teared up as the two leads sang “Almost Paradise.” He knew Matt would never let him live it down if he actually cried, so he started reciting the periodic table in his head as a distraction. Allura looked over at him with misty eyes and smiled. Matt grumbled and excused himself to the bathroom. “This looks great, Allura. It’s gonna kill when it opens. You and Coran should be really proud.” Her eyes lit up. “Thank you so much, Shiro. I can’t wait for this whole place to be filled to the brim!” She said, throwing her arms wide towards the auditorium. A soft chuckle escaped him, it was so great to see her so happy. She always worked so hard, he was glad it was going well for her. 

Coran came out from the side of the stage and was giving all the actors some closing remarks when a very familiar pair of tight jeans walked up the center aisle. Even though he was wearing an ill-fitting black coat, baseball cap, and sunglasses, Shiro would have recognized him anywhere. _What the hell?_ Shiro thought, still gaping at the window. Keith had a large bouquet (of orange lilies, Shiro noted) and had chuckled them up at the stage, hitting Lance square in the chest. Shiro reached over and grabbed Allura’s discarded headphones so he could hear what was happening. 

“Wow, Lance. You are so amazing. Another stellar performance. Your mother must be so proud.” Keith deadpanned, lowering his voice comically in an attempt to disguise it. “Why thank you, kind stranger who I’ve definitely never met! I am pretty great!” Lance called out and took a deep bow. A few people on stage laughed as Lance grabbed the flowers and began improvising a waltz with them. “They like me! They really like me!” He cried and pulled one of the other actors into the dance with him. Everyone on stage was losing it laughing, as was Allura. “See what I mean, Shiro? He’s great on stage and he’s so funny afterwards. It’s great having him on board.” 

Shiro’s entire mind blanked completely out. Whatever the hell had just happened, he knew two things: This was somehow Matt’s fault, and he had to get to Keith’s bike before Keith did because he needed an explanation. “I uh… I gotta go. I’ll be right back.” Allura blinked in surprise as Shiro shoved the headphones into her hands and sprinted from the room. 

Keith was shoving his sunglasses and hat into his backpack when Shiro skidded to a stop next to him, slightly out of breath. His eyes widened at the sight of Shiro hunched over his bike, staring at him with thinly veiled amusement. “Keith, fancy seeing you here.” He huffed out. Keith pressed his mouth into a thin line and let out a breath through his nose. “Oh god, this isn’t happening.” He mumbled out barely above a whisper. 

“So… I’m guessing that’s why you didn’t want to tell me what all the flowers were for?” Shiro couldn’t help his grin. Keith groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “I was really hoping you would never find out, honestly. I guess I should start at the beginning…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a clip show! Find out what was going on behind the scenes leading up to... the big reveal! That's right, team. We finally learn the reason Keith was buying those flowers, and it's much dumber than you were expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok this chapter is untitled because I'm a scrub. I finished it and wanted to post it but couldn't think of a way to shoehorn in the motif i had going lol. If it's confusing or hard to follow, I'm sorry. I felt like it was equal parts important to the story and funny to me personally to include all the snippets, but time skips can be hard. I'm always open to constructive criticism! 
> 
> Saturday will be the very last chapter :D

Setting: chapter 3, the Tactical Strategy Meeting of Utmost Importance

 

Matt frowned as Shiro began talking about his crush and Allura was furiously writing. He pulled out his phone. 

 

**Matt:** hey, your dorky mullet friend, what was his name? Chris? 

 

Pidge's response came almost immediately.

 

**Pidge:** Keith. Why? 

 

Matt laughed out loud before he could stop himself. He looked up and saw his friends glaring at him. “Sorry, ignore me. Reddit.” Chuckling, he wiggled his phone at them for emphasis. Secure in his belief that they absolutely didn't care what he was doing, he responded. 

 

**Matt:** has he mentioned shiro at all?

**Pidge:** uuugghhhh  (◔_◔) only non-stop for like a month!!! Why? 

 

He chuckled again, more quietly this time, and made a smart aleck remark to Allura about her beautiful handwriting. Dodging the pen that was thrown his way, he went back to his phone. 

 

**Matt:** Shiro's over here geeking out about him

**Pidge:** wingman bros :O !!! 

**Matt:** ;)

 

..

 

As soon as she got home from class the next day, Pidge texted Keith to come to her dorm immediately. 15 minutes later, Keith stormed through her door, expecting a disaster. “Pidge! I got here as soon as I could. Is everything ok?” She was just sitting at her computer chair, grinning. Taking two steps back towards the door, Keith eyed her suspiciously. “Ok that look is never a good thing.” 

 

With a devious cackle, she held her phone out for Keith to see what Matt had sent the night before. Keith cheeks immediately reddened. “What does he mean by geeking out?” The chair creaked ominously as she leaned back, steepling her fingers. “It means, you're gonna ask Shiro on a date. And it's gonna be awesome!” 

 

Homework long forgotten, the two set to work on planning out all the details. Pidge had to switch the astronomy club meeting to Saturday so that they'd have time to clean out the observatory after the date, but it was well worth it. Mostly because she was happy for her friend and a boyfriend would do him some good, but not insignificantly in part because if she had to hear Keith wax poetic about Matt's lame friend anymore she was going to scream. 

 

..

 

Setting: chapter 4, while Shiro is resting

 

Well, asking Shiro out hadn't exactly gone as planned, but Keith was nothing if not adaptable. Pulling out his book on flower meanings again, he rummaged through for something applicable for Shiro. He didn't really find anything that great, but he figured he'd make do, and at least he knew Shiro's favorite now. He scribbled out a quick note and headed to the flower shop again. 

 

The rest of the day and most of the following day went by in an anxiety fueled blur. Had Matt and Pidge been wrong? Was Shiro still feeling bad? Should he go check on him? He didn't want to seem desperate, but it was killing him wondering if Shiro had even gotten the note or not. 

 

Pidge helped distract him with a cool alien documentary that they spent the afternoon laughing at, so his phone finally buzzing made him shoot up in his chair. He didn't recognize the number and turned to Pidge in a panic. “Answer it, dummy!” She laughed and chucked a pillow at his hip. 

 

After their short conversation, he looked at Pidge with a nervous grin and she squealed happily for him. 

 

..

 

Setting: chapter 6, the day after Valentine's day

 

Keith was exhausted and had almost fallen asleep twice in his morning class, but his date with Shiro had been well worth it. He desperately wanted to make plans to see him again, but didn't want to come off as over-eager. When he finally had a quick break for lunch, he texted Shiro again. He had no idea what they would do, but the first date had gone so well he wasn't sure it mattered. Just as he was about to ask Shiro if he had any preferences, a hand swatted at his phone. 

 

“Hey mullet! What flowers are you gonna bring me tonight?” Lance said with a smirk. “Ugh. Ok. This is getting out of hand. I'm doing tonight and the opening show, and that's it.” Keith growled out, eyes daring for a fight. Lance laughed and patted him on the back. 

 

“Dude, honestly, I'm surprised you lasted this long. It's chill. Tonight and opening day, and then we're square.” Keith let out a sigh of relief and the tension left his shoulders. He'd always taken himself just a little too seriously, so making a public spectacle of himself was decidedly out of his wheelhouse. He saw the time as he unlocked his phone and realized he was going to be late for his afternoon lab, so hurriedly ate the rest of his lunch and took off down the hallway. 

..

 

Setting: chapter 6, Holt edition

 

**Pidge:** omg you have to bring Shiro to one of Lance's rehearsals, it'll be hilarious

 

**Matt:** hilarious watching me fight him to the death for Allura's honor???? 

 

**Pidge:** …

**Pidge:** no

**Pidge:** The flower thing. You gotta get him to go! 

..

 

Setting: post chapter 6, Keith's bike.

 

“I was really hoping you would never find out, honestly. I guess I should start at the beginning…” he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Shiro's eyes never left his face. “Lance… is my roommate. I lost a stupid bet to him and…” Keith groaned in frustration. Words had never been his strong suit. “And throwing flowers at him on stage is what I have to because I lost.” 

 

Shiro stared at him for a minute before doubling over with laughter. “Well that's a lot better than what I was thinking, I guess.” Keth blinked owlishly. “Wait, what were you thinking?” Shiro straightened up and collected himself. 

 

“I really thought you had a boyfriend or were trying to get back with an ex or something. I was kind of worried I was gonna up being a homewrecker.” Shiro's grin was infectious. “Oh my gosh, that's terrible!” Keith laughed. “I can't believe you still went out with me.” 

 

Shiro held his hand up and shook his head. “Hey, we didn't even do anything PG-13 rated. It was just a nice evening that I could remember fondly, with a clear conscience, if I ended up being a side dish.” They looked at each other and laughed again. “But seriously, what kind of bet was that?” Keith facepalmed and groaned again. 

 

“Ok, so here's the thing…” 

 

..

 

Setting- pre-chapter 1, early January

 

The semester hadn't even officially started yet, but as Keith organized all of his books, he was already longing for May. His roommate was noisily unpacking from the holiday break on the other side of the room. “Dude! I'm trying out for the musical, you have to come be emotional support!” A loud thump had Keith wincing in sympathy for their downstairs neighbors as Lance accidentally dropped a stack of books onto the ground.

 

“No. Make Hunk go with you, he likes that boring crap.” Standing back and appraising his desk setup, Keith nodded in approval and moved to unpack his clothes. “He's busy. Plus we haven't done any roomie bonding in a month! It'll be fun!” Lance clasped his hands in front of himself and batted his eyes at Keith pleadingly. 

 

“Do you even know how to sing? I have never heard you so much as hum.” Lance made a dismissive noise and waved his hand in the air in front of him. “I'm an amazing singer! I sing in the shower constantly. And I  _ have _ to make it in, one of the directors is my TA from freshman physics, you know the one.” Keith looked over at Lance with a bored expression. Oh he knew exactly who Lance was talking about. 

 

She had been in her last year of her master's degree when Lance and Keith took Dr. Slav’s hellacious intro to physics class, and had done pretty much all of the teaching after midterms. Keith had admired her for being smart, no-nonsense, and extremely timely with grades but that was as far as their interactions had gone. Lance, however, had purposely bombed the midterm so that he would have an excuse to spend a lot of time in her office. A plan that had utterly failed, because Slav had taken over office hours and Lance ended up with a C+ instead of the A he could have easily gotten. Apparently he'd still been harboring the crush even after 2 and a half years.

 

“I bet she doesn't even remember your name.” Keith muttered as he stuffed socks into a drawer. “Oh she's gonna! Because I'm gonna steal the show, baby!” Lance spun around kicked a leg high into the air while wiggling his splayed fingers above his head. “Yeah, you're gonna end up being the understudy to the understudy for the guy that has 2 lines and doesn't even dance.” He tossed a pair of socks at Lance's head.

 

Lance swatted them out of the air and tossed them back, landing in the open drawer. “Psh yeah right! I'm totally gonna get the lead part and razzle dazzle her socks off and she’ll fall madly in love with me!” Another twirl left Lance slightly off-balance and he fell onto Keith's bed with a quiet “oof.”

 

Keith snorted derisively. “Yeah, I bet you will.” Moving to the closet, he started hanging up his shirts.

 

“Oh? You wanna be sarcastic? Then put your money where your mouth is!” Lance said, jumping up and getting in Keith's face. Keith glared at him and gently pushed him out of the doorway. “Lance, we're both broke. And you are  _ never _ riding my bike again, so don't even ask.”

 

“Ok, ok, gosh.” Lance threw up his hands defensively. “I didn't even hit that lady that hard, she was fine!” Keith stared at him blankly. Lance blushed and looked away. 

 

“Fine. Ok. So, WHEN I get the lead role… you have to…” Lance put a hand on his chin and tapped his fingers against it for a moment. Snapping his fingers, his eyes lit up. “You have to show up to all my rehearsals and shows with bouquets and tell everyone how amazing I am!” 

 

Keith stared at him. That was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard come out of Lance's mouth. “Ok, that's stupid but I'll roll with it I guess. What do I get if you lose?” Lance looked around the room for a minute before his eyes landed on Keith's assortment of books. He grabbed the Spanish 3 book from the middle of the stack. “If I don't get the part, instead of just helping you with your Spanish homework, I'll do all of it for you for the whole semester!” 

 

Keith considered for a moment. He  _ hated _ Spanish. The only reason he'd taken it was to fulfill the foreign language requirement part of his degree and it was a constant struggle. Luckily, Lance had been his roommate since sophomore year, when he first started taking it, and was actually pretty helpful. It might make the midterm harder, but he could just cram right before and wing it, all he needed was a C. “Done.” Keith stuck out his hand and Lance shook it immediately. 

 

“Woo! Hope you like flowers, mullet!” 

 

..

 

Setting- present

 

Shiro's cheeks flushed with secondhand embarrassment. “Wow, that's... rough.” Keith sighed. “Yeah.” Keith ran a hand through his hair. Shiro coughed lightly. “Well, I'm glad you're not a two-timer. Sorry you have the worst roommate ever.” It helped to lighten the awkward mood a little. 

 

Keith chuckled and toed the asphalt with a boot. “He's not that bad. I just have to do opening night and he's letting me off the hook. It was a really stupid bet.” Shiro smiled at him. “Well… I know you asked about tomorrow, but I'm free the rest of tonight if you wanted to go out and grab some dinner or something?” 

 

Keith ducked his face behind his long bangs. “Maybe we could get some take out and go to your place?” Shiro walked around the bike and tucked Keith's hair behind his ear so he could look into his eyes. “We could just… skip the take out. If you want.” Keith licked his lips and swallowed hard. “Sure,” he breathed out, barely a whisper. 

 

Shiro took another step closer and leaned his face in, his nose almost touching Keith’s. “Is this ok?” He whispered, knocking his nose lightly into Keith's. Keith's hands tangled in Shiro's jacket and pulled him forward, crushing their lips together. It was too much, too fast, but somehow absolutely perfect. All Shiro could do was rest his hand on Keith's lower back and let the moment wash over him. 

 

Keith finally broke away for air and rested his forehead on Shiro's. “I'll take that as a yes,” Shiro chuckled breathlessly. Keith smiled and turned to grab his helmet, pushing it into Shiro's chest as he mounted the bike. Returning the smile, Shiro quickly put it on. 

 

He slid onto the back of the bike and wrapped his arm around Keith's chest, pulling them close together. Keith's face was flushed and his eyes were glimmering in the dim streetlights; Shiro couldn't help but tip his head to press another bruising kiss onto Keith's lips, no matter how awkward the angle or irritating the helmet’s lifted visor was. He pulled away with a sheepish smile and Keith knocked the visor down over his eyes. 

 

“Hold on tight.” Was the only warning Shiro got as Keith shot off down the road. 


	8. ...but sometimes they do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's punishment for losing the bet is over, and something much more pleasant begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for not uploading this yesterday! I ended up staying at a friend's house due to Poor Decision Making and didn't have access to my desktop.
> 
> This is the end! Thank you so much for everyone who stuck around <3 Come visit me on tumblr @lasersheith

Gloxinia- Love at First Sight

Red Tulip- Believe Me, Declaration of Love

  
  


3 weeks went by in a flurry of long motorcycle rides, late nights, and the best mornings of Shiro’s life. There was nothing quite like waking up in a tangle of limbs, sore in all the right places. He found himself rising before the sun and taking his time coming fully awake. In the daylight, he had to work to soften Keith’s nearly ever-present serious expression, but early in the morning, Keith’s face was always soft and his kiss-swollen lips curled ever so slightly upwards into Shiro’s favorite smile. 

 

He couldn’t help but reach out and run his thumb across Keith’s bottom lip, grinning as Keith stirred and flicked out his tongue sleepily. Curling more closely into Shiro’s chest, he yawned and tried to hold on to the last vestiges of sleep as Shiro leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of his head. “Mmm, go back to bed, ‘Kashi. S’too early.” 

 

Shiro chuckled and brushed the wild hair out of his eyes. “If we sleep in too long we won’t have time for a shower.” That actually got Keith’s eyes to open. “Good point.” He punctuated with a kiss as he pushed Shiro onto his back and straddled his hips. He leaned over and teasingly nipped Shiro’s chin with his teeth before getting up and walking towards the bathroom. Instead of following right away, Shiro took a moment to enjoy the sight. 

 

After a lengthy shower and quiet breakfast, Keith had to run off to class and Shiro off to work. With spring right around the corner, business was picking up and the days were flying by. Looking forward to seeing Keith most nights usually gave Shiro more than enough motivation to close up in a hurry and race home, but tonight was a very special occasion and there was a ton of prep to do.

 

Clearing off the biggest display table, Shiro set to work making 5 large bouquets for the opening showing of the musical that night. Coran and Allura and their cast had worked so hard to put together the show, and even if it was just Keith who was on the hook for the over the top display of appreciation, Shiro wanted to make sure everything was perfect. 

 

Right at 6:30, the small bell dinged, signaling Keith's arrival. He walked up behind Shiro and placed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Wow, those look incredible, baby.” Keith murmured, nuzzling into Shiro's shoulder. With pink-tinged cheeks from the pet name, Shiro turned in Keith’s embrace. “Good, I'm glad. Tonight should be fun.” He said, eyes having trouble staying off of Keith's lips. 

 

Keith stepped forward until Shiro's back was pressed against the table before leaning in for a heated kiss. The chiming of the bell a second time had them breaking apart quickly and shuffling awkwardly. “I can come back later if you guys are busy!” Hunk teased. “But if you want a ride, I'm leaving in 10 minutes.” All three of them laughed as Shiro and Keith both fumbled out promises to limit the PDA. They carried all of the various arrangements to Hunk's car and set off for the theater. 

 

It was a good thing that Hunk had insisted on leaving early, by the time the lights dimmed there wasn't an empty seat in the whole auditorium. From the one rehearsal he'd seen, Shiro was expecting it to be a great show and he wasn't disappointed. Hunk actually did shed a few tears during “Almost Paradise” which earned him some snickering from the Holts. Shiro's eyes welled up a bit and Keith chuckled at him but squeezed his hand comfortingly. 

 

When the lights came back on and the actors began to walk onto the stage, the crowd roared with applause. When Lance stepped forward for his bow, Keith, Shiro, Hunk and the Holts all sprang forward and tossed their flowers onto the stage at his feet. Various whistling and whooping and carrying on from the small collection of audience members gathered around the space in front of the stage brought wide grins to all of the casts’ faces. 

 

Once all of the bowing and clapping had subsided, Shiro made his way back behind the stage to congratulate Allura and Coran on a great show. After a bit of celebration, most of the cast decided to make their way out to one of the bars nearby campus to keep the party going. Keith sidled up to Shiro and leaned his face in close. “We should head back to your place,” he whispered. The look in his eyes had Shiro heartily agreeing and hastily excusing them from the throng of congratulators and party-goers.

 

As they made their way out into the cool night air, Shiro wrapped his arm around Keith's waist. “Hey, you're done with the bet now! You made it!” Keith laughed and elbowed him in the ribs gently. “Yeah, finally! I guess I can't really be mad about it, I might never have met you if I hadn't lost.” Shiro squeezed his hip gently and they smiled at each other as they walked the few blocks back to Shiro's apartment. 

 

As soon as they walked in the door, Keith threw his arms around Shiro's neck and pulled him into a heated kiss. They stayed in the doorway for a long while, hands roving and lips finding every available bit of skin the other had to offer. Keith pulled at Shiro's belt impatiently and started walking him backwards towards his room.  

 

Shiro paused and took half a step back, gently planning his hand on Keith's chest. “Hey, before we head to bed, I actually have something I need to tell you.” Keith raised an eyebrow at him inquisitively. Excusing himself to the kitchen briefly, Shiro returned with his hand behind his back. Licking his lips, he took a deep breath and looked into Keith’s eyes. “I know it might be moving a little fast,” he pulled his hand out in between them, revealing a single red tulip, “but, every second I don’t say it, I feel like it’s going to burst out of my chest.” 

 

Keith took the flower and smiled up at him. “So say it.” He whispered, rolling the flower’s stem in his fingers tenderly. Shiro bit his lip and nodded. “I love you, Keith.” Misty-eyed, Keith turned and reached into his previously discarded backpack and pulled a long, thin box from its main pouch. Inside laid a purple and white gloxinia that he carefully handed to Shiro. “I love you, too.” 


End file.
